Tag Archives: Luther

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on June 7, 2015
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A Kingdom Divided Against Itself — Rev. David J. Schreffler

June 7, 2015
Sunday

“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.” Mark 3:24-27

“In Mark’s Gospel, Satan is always behind the opposition to Jesus regardless of who or what the vehicle may be. In this case, it is his own family and a delegation of scribes from Jerusalem.

Now Jesus makes clear, in the form of a parable, the scope of what he is doing in his freeing of the demon-possessed. Jesus is coming to plunder Satan’s household and bring about his end, not by division from within but by stealth and force from without. Jesus, who was stronger than John the Baptist (1:7), is stronger than the strong man Satan too. Jesus’ stealthy binding of the powers of evil ultimately undermines Satan so completely that even when he appears to have succeeded in destroying Jesus in the crucifixion, the very destruction of the Son issues not in defeat but in the mysterious victory of God.” June 10, 2012, Meda Stamper, from the “Working Preacher” website

We have to come to and accept the realization that the ways of evil and the devil are truly binding to a person, constricting them from the ways of Jesus — just as the ways of Jesus are truly binding to a person, constricting them from the ways of the devil. What the devil seeks to do is divide us, either as a congregation or as individuals, the devil hopes to divide our attentions — so that we are no longer completely focused on Christ. Every day we should pray that Christ fights the battle for us against the devil, so that our attention and our loyalties are not divided — that we are solely focused on the Christ-like life.

What ways do you use to stay focused on Christ each and every day? Luther threw an ink bottle (supposedly) at the Devil, striking the wall (and maybe the Devil). How do you fend off evil thoughts and the “smooth talk” of the Devil?

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 11, 2015
Tags: Luther   

The Reformation – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 11, 2015 – “R” is for Reformation

The Protestant Reformation is a big deal for the Lutheran Church. We celebrate Reformation Sunday every year, yet it continues to lose its power and significance the further we get from October 31, 1517. The Protestant Reformation has been called a “16th century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe.” Other sites refer to it simply as “…the schism within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli and other early Protestant Reformers.”

So what sparked this “Reformation”? Some say it was the nailing of the 95 Theses and their consequent distribution (thanks to Gutenberg’s Printing Press) that began the movement that would splinter the Catholic Church, eventually sparking denominations such as the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church, and the Radical Reformation that gave us leaders like Menno Simons,Thomas Müntzer, Andreas Karlstadt; and other groups like the Zwickau prophets and Anabaptist groups like the Hutterites and Mennonites.

Luther loved the church he was a part of, but he did not love some of their practices – especially the selling of indulgences. He posted the list of 95 complaints hoping to start a conversation – instead he began a time of real upheaval and conversation. He even had a contract out on him which drove him “underground” to live for a time at the castle at Wartburg when he refused to recant at the Diet of Worms.

As I said earlier, the celebration of Reformation Sunday has been losing its power and significance over the last 30 years. However, in the year 2017, we will celebrate the 500th anniversary of this significant social, political, and religious event. My hope is we will once again reclaim the significance of this event, which may lead us to reclaim a hunger for the Word of G*d.

Pastor Dave